Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1887-08-09
Discovering a Gasoline Gns Well.


Discovering a Gasoline Gns Well.
1t is not very often that the people of the
Western frontier country are taken in by
swindlers, but when they are they go in all
over. The great real estate booms in the
eastern part of the State have had their eft.
feet upon the settlers, and almost every
man who owns piece of land feels that 1t
is worth good deal more to-day than it
was six weeks ago. AT first the reports
from the East were received with mild
sort of satisfaction, and a confidence that
what was going on in Wichita would soon
be repeated here on the western line or the
State. No one thought it would come i'm.
mediately, but all believed that 1t would
come, So there was general stli1enlng OF
prices and q patient determination to wait
and see what the future would bring forth.
The people of GreeeyVille, Kan, were In
this frame of mind when several we'll dress
cd strangers arrived in town about two
weeks ago and began to inquire about the
value of certain real estate. Nothing serl-
Gus was suspected at first, but in the course
of q few days it was seen that they meant
business. jim Bones's farm, south OF town,
which might have been had y month ago
for 5000, was sold to the strangers for 81 800
and they paid $500 of it down. Prices
went up right away, and when Jim
tried to buy another place he found that
he couldn't reach anything within ten
miles of the Jail unless he borrowed money.
The day after the sale the strangers an
nounced that they had discovered natural
gas on the Bones place, and, sure enough,
that night the skies in that direction were
brilliantly illuminated. The entire popula-
ton turned out to see the sight. Just back
ofthe shed which Jim had used as barn
was an iron pipe and from the nozzle Of it
there issued flaring and spluttering flame.
Everybody stood speechle5s except Jim,
who raved and swore, and tried TO pick s.
fight with one of the visitors. Other citl-
zens interfered at this point, and disturb
ance was prevented.
"You see,'' said one OF the strangers, I'VE
are natural-gas experts from Pennsylvania.
We have been following this vein all the
way from Uniontown. Some chaps from
Pittsburgh got in ahead of US at point in
Ohio where we looked for it, and the same
way down near Terre Haute, Ind. When
we located it there, we found that we were
on some property that belonged to minor
heir, and we could not get possession.
Then we set out for the West, for we knew
that it would reappear somewhere out here:
There were symptoms in Missouri, and
better prospects yet at Larned, but
this is more like it. The thing don't
work just right yet, though. We will have
to go down further Some of these wells
are five miles deep. You can imagine what
is down below you hero when tell you that
this vein has been tapped at a depth of only
forty feet. l haven't any doubt that at a
fair depth you can find gas enough here to
illuminate the continent"
The next day the strangers called town
meeting and announced their intention of
organizing stock company for the purpose
of developing the vein. They had many
other enterprises on hand, and as they
would he away much Of the time they would
like to have some interested parties on the
ground. They would want q superintend-
ent at good salary, and they would have
to have an Office where they could mature
plans to distribute the gas all over Western
Kansas and Eastern Colorado. Mr.. Ken
yon, the banker, was elected superintendent
at salary of s., 900 year, and fine room
i'll his building was rented as al oillce. 1t
was in this place that the stock was sub
scribed for. The terms were made easy
enough to suit almost any body. The capi-
tai stock was to be 100000, and any man
or woman who put up ten per cent. was en-
titled to what was wanted. Even the
preacher came in for thousand dollars, his
parishioners putting up the margin for him
on the ground that when the Lords bounty
had been literally bestowed upon the town
it would not be right to permit His chie
servant 70 suffer through his poverty. The
banker also advanced considerable money
for the weak sisters who had no ready
money, taking mortgages on their farms oil
stock. In this way $4,000 worth of stock
was taken in one day. The discoverers pos
lively refused to sell more than this, as they
said they always made it point to retain s
controlling interest in all property that they
developed This appeared reasonable, ant
no complaints were made.
A few days later the strangers announced
that they would start for the East last Sat
urday for the purpose of securing the prope
machinery. Before they left they gave sew
eral exhibitions of the power of the gas, gen
orally at night. They had stop on tn
pipe, and when that was opened and
match applied the flame blew up about wv
eet and gave the greatest satisfaction. 1
watchman was hired to guard the well, ant
when the gentlemen came to leave com
mittee of citizens escorted them t
the railroad and wished them o sue
cessful trip and speedy return. Sunda
the entire town visited the we'll AM
many attempts to experiment with it wer
made. Lum Hpddleston, the watchmar
warned the crowd away repeatedly, and q
length was constrained to strike a man VIII
persisted in meddling with the stopcock
me follow was from the northern part c
tae county, and he had been in the hab
oil doing ahn1t as ha rrontnd to Wha